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The Shad Festival Parade Saturday morning means excitement and
fun for all ages. Creative homemade floats are a tradition.
Shown here is a float by Cub Scouts in the 2008 theme
category, “Pirates of the Contentnea, A Shadabration”. |
Latin music and dance events Sunday afternoon include Salsa
dance music and free instruction. |
Shad souvenirs at 'Shad Shack' behind Town Common |
Fish Fry (Saturday only, 11 a.m.-2.p.m.), prepared by Grifton
Volunteer Fire Department. |
Visitors view the free Shad Festival Art Show at the Museum
lobby of the Civic Center Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
Nearly half of the 40 events at the Shad Festival are
arts-related |
2009 Fishy Tales Winners
2010 contest will be held
on April 13 |
Contentnea Creek bisects Grifton and provides beautiful
scenery for canoeing and boating. This year the Neuse
Riverkeeper Foundation will have canoes and kayaks at the
boat landing Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for you to try
paddling around – it’s free.
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Magic Shows Sat. & Sun. afternoons sponsored by Embarq |
Art created by Grifton children in Town-sponsored art classes
is exhibited at the Shad Festival Children’s Art Show.
|
Pony Rides and Petting Zoo are exciting for kids, in the
Children's Area on Pitt Street across from the "Shad Shack"
Souvenir/Information Building.
|
Youngsters and teens rate the carnival rides the most exciting
event at Grifton’s annual Shad Festival. They open Wednesday
evening and run through Saturday
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Clogging Saturday afternoon is fun to watch. Two shows are
scheduled, both by the Green Grass Cloggers of Greenville. See
them at the Queen Street Performance Area in front of CB’s
Service Station.
|
2009 Miss Grifton, Caitlyn Carrasquillo |
Needlework projects made by Grifton Senior Citizens will be at
the Civic Center Craft Room Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
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The Shad Festival Parade starts at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday
with bands, marching units, area queens, floats, Shrine
groups, clowns and much more. The U.S. Marine Band shown
here was in the 2008 parade.
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Colorful and humorous clowns add to Shad Festival parade fun.
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Free craft activities at the Children’s Craft Tent sponsored
by Home Depot of Greenville include planting flowers and
building several projects from wood like boats or bird
houses.
|
Fike High School Marching Band of Wilson won a trophy and
$200 in the 2008 Shad Festival Parade. Click on the little
fish labeled Parade for information on how to apply for
participation in this year’s Parade.
|
Records set in
2007 for the Shad Toss still stand: William Morning (left)
183 ft. 8 inches for males age 15 and older and Kirsten Burt
(right) 162 ft. 1 inch for females ages 11-14. The
tournament is on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, this year
near the boat landing at the creek.
|
See how far you can throw a real fish at the Shad Toss
Saturday and Sunday afternoons. This year the tournament
will be at Contentnea Creek near the boat landing. Click on
the little fish labeled Map to see where the Shad Toss will
be. |
Face painting is one of the many free arts events at the
Shad Festival.
|
Kids of all ages love the balloon sculptures and magic shows
Saturday and Sunday afternoons. See Schedule for details. |
Music, dance and other entertainment events are features at
the Shad Festival. See Schedule for details.
|
A colorful Sunday afternoon feature is traditional dances of
Mexico, danced by Ballet Folklorico Espiritu Latino dancers
in colorful costumes of the Jalisco and Nuevo Leon sections
of Mexico. See them near the “Shad Shack” souvenir building
in the Town Common area. |
|
2010 Pet Show will be Third Annual Pet Show. Shown
here is the 2009 winners. |
The Grifton Museum of Area Culture includes interesting
exhibits on Tuscarora and prehistoric Indian artifacts,
Civil War items (including a cannonball found less than one
block from the Museum), household items and farm equipment
from the past, fossils and animals in the Natural History
Room, and much more. It is open on Saturday and Sunday
afternoons of Shad Festival weekend and from 2-4 p.m. on the
first Sunday of each month. Free. |
Barbecued pork and chicken by New
Covenant Holy Church are featured on the Town Common
Saturday after 2 p.m. and Sunday beginning at noon. Nearby
this year will be an Interdenominational Community Church
Service on Sunday.
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A mobile aquarium by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission
will be in the Town Common area with live fish swimming in
tanks for cold water fish and tanks for warm water fish.
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Youngsters have fun “fishing” in the Town Common area at a
pool provided by the East Carolina Subunit of the American
Fisheries Society. |
Craft Show at Shad Festival |
